


Rhyme and Reason

by hakura0



Category: X-Factor (Comics)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 08:25:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7427485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hakura0/pseuds/hakura0
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shatterstar gets his priorities in line, and makes a promise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rhyme and Reason

There are few things as straightforward as a fight, and Shatterstar is distinctly aware of that. It isn't to say that he doesn't appreciate the challenge at times.

Cooking for instance. It was one thing for him to watch and even emulate the shows on television, to follow a recipe from one of the sites that Julio enjoyed.

Some things were simple, yes. He'd made some salads because he knew that Julio ate them, and they had turned out fine. But when it came to actually cooking meat there were variation in temperature between the recipes, and once you were taking the cooking time by ear it only stood to reason that perhaps the rest could be improved with improvisation.

After the incident with the semi-raw chicken the rest of the team avoided his cooking like the plague, but he knew he had improved. Julio seemed fond enough of it, though he kept it quiet. Shatterstar had to admit that it was easier to cook for just the two of them.

The other thing that was far less simple than it looked on the television was, well...love. He'd been working on that, on the relationship that he had with Julio for a longer time than he had been attempting to cook but he knew that he was still having trouble. Loving him was not the problem, had never been, even in the times where it had turned painful. 

The issue came in the part of him that was distinctly aware of the possibilities, even as he was set in certainty regarding the part that had to do with him and Julio. It was hard to tell how to frame it, exactly - romance? Sex?

The curiosity wasn't intended to hurt, even so often as it did. He wanted to try things, to be certain that there was not something better that both of them were missing out on.

A recipe, no matter how amazing, may still be able to be improved with another ingredient.

The metaphor, when he had offered it months ago now, had led to the now familiar expression on Julio's face. The one that he never wanted to see again.

It wasn't simple, but he had listened, and whatever he may be he wasn't stupid. He watched, he learned, absorbed the information from Julio and others and his old friend the television.

Moreover; he loved Julio. The suggestions, the curiosity - they were hurting him. Not the simple pain of an injury, but the kind that he remembered from years ago, when Julio had left for a time and gone home to deal with something related to his family.

Causing that was the last thing that he wanted to do.

The lights are off when Richter makes his way into the bedroom. There are candles lit though, a dull sort of glow that mixed with the streetlights outside lets him see well enough. There's something, petals maybe, scattered throughout, and for half a moment he thinks he got the wrong room somehow.

But Star is there, actually dressed from what he can tell, sitting on the bed and looking- though it must be the darkness - nervous for all that Richter could tell.

His face lights up when he sees Richter though, his phone in his hand. "Julio!" He doesn't seem nervous now, but then, he rarely does. Shatterstar stands up, gesturing for Richter to sit down and then looking at the phone for just a moment, pressing something on the screen before setting it on the end table to the side.

An ad plays, as Richter sits down, and tries not to smile. Shatterstar is next to him a moment later, a hand on his.

"What is all this?" Richter asks, trying his best to ignore the advertisement.

"I've been thinking," Shatterstar starts, and Richter is torn between some kind of dread, and butterflies. 

"About what?" Richter asks him, and it's at about that point that the ad stops and music starts. It's familiar, but he doesn't recognize it immediately, and his attention is admittedly elsewhere.

"We've talked about it before, but, well... us. Us versus...everything else, I suppose..." Shatterstar is looking at him with some kind of determination, and it's almost clear he's been through this in his head a dozen times, but he hasn't actually rehearsed it.

"The set-up seems a little much for a talk but... - It's fine," Richter interjects, quickly, when it looks like Shatterstar is going to protest. "I'm listening."

"I don't want to hurt you, Julio." Shatterstar tells him after a moment. "I never meant to. I've been confusing things and their significance, and... I love you."

"I love you too," Richter tells him, and then all at once he recognizes the song and he has to put his head in his hands to keep from laughing or crying and he's not sure which, or why he's surprised.

"...Julio?" Shatterstar asks him, and he lifts his head, manages a smile that's almost apologetic.

"Sorry." He squeezes Shatterstar's hand, rubbing his thumb over his skin. "I just recognized the song... It's from-"

"The Lion King." Shatterstar affirms, and the fact that he is completely unabashed about it has stopped surprising Richter long ago. Media was media. "I thought the words might help get my point across."

"I'd rather hear it from you, Star." Richter tells him, and Shatterstar smiles in response.

"Alright. Then let me get to the point." Shatterstar turns and pauses the song before moving his attention back to Richter.

"I want to make my intentions clear. I want to be with you, and only you. It doesn't mean that I am not still curious, but...there are plenty of other things that I'm curious about where my interest doesn't hurt you. Where further actions won't."

Shatterstar pauses and Richter watches the light of one of the candles reflecting off of his face. 

"Thank you..." Richter starts, moving forward in the silence for an embrace. It's short, and Shatterstar only kisses him on the forehead before pulling away and moving to one knee.

For a moment, Richter can't remember what breathing is, and he isn't sure in retrospect whether he remembered to do it.

"We have spent enough time apart, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You have my vow as a warrior that from here out, my attentions are yours alone. Being with you is more important than anything else."

The air in the room is heavy, but Shatterstar's hand on his is warm when he finds it again. There's a moment where he can't figure out what to say, and Star's face looks like he is waiting for something.

"Did you... was that... Did you just propose?" Richter asks him, finally, and Shatterstar looks thoughtful.

"It's a pledge. It doesn't need to be returned, I just need your permission to give it. I've been selfish, and I think it's about time I brought that under control. I want to be with you, Julio."

"...what if I want to return it?" Richter asks him, and Shatterstar looks almost confused for a moment. 

"You've had no such-" He starts to object, out of confusion more than anything else but Richter puts a hand on the side of his face and smiles.

"I want to be with you, too. I'll accept your pledge, if you'll accept mine." Richter tells him, and he isn't sure what to expect but he watches as Shatterstar nods, his expression almost solemn. 

"Yes," Star says, and a moment later he is beaming, and moments after that their lips are pressed together, as they move into a tight embrace.

It doesn't take long for their clothes to form a pile beside the bed, for there to be nothing but the press of skin and skin.

Later, after Star has fallen asleep Richter makes his way downstairs and into the empty living room. Jamie finds him about an hour later, lounging on the couch.

It takes a moment for him to notice, occupied with listening to Elton John sing about restless warriors, wide-eyed wanderers, and star-crossed voyagers. 

"The Lion King?" Jamie asks, and Richter looks over, smiling a little beside himself, still sort of unable to stop.

"I think I just got married to this song." Richter tells him, and Jamie moves to sit on the other side of the couch.

"Shit. That is legal now, isn't it?" Jamie thinks out loud, before working to wake up his still groggy brain. "Wait, when?"

"Nine-ish?" Richter offers with a shrug. "I didn't have a watch on."

"When did he propose?" Jamie asks, leaning forward and stealing a handful of popcorn from a bowl on the table.

"I'm pretty sure it's kind of the same thing for him. I didn't really know to invite anyone, before you get offended." Richter tells him idly.

Jamie takes his turn to shrug. "I don't have the money for wedding gifts anyway. Watch out for the girls, they'll probably want to make you do it over again."

"I don't think he's a citizen, so we can't really get more than Star-married." Richter tells him.

"I don't know about that, I know a priest..." Jamie offers. 

"Thanks." Richter tells him.

"Yeah." They watch the end of the movie in silence, and Jamie turns to look back to Richter as the credits roll. "You know. I guess it could have been worse, it could have been, 'My Heart Will Go On'."

"No," Richter tells him without explaining. "It couldn't have. I'm going to turn back in; I'm kind of surprised Star didn't show up down here yet."

"Go ahead. I'll finish the popcorn." Jamie tells him. Richter is halfway out of the room before he speaks up again. "Hey, Ric?" 

"What is it?" Richter asks, turning back to look at him.

"Whatever it was, congratulations. You look pretty up."

"I guess I am." Richter tells him, grinning before he heads back up the stairs.

Shatterstar is waiting for him at the top.


End file.
